Salameander.com

Deciding what gift to get fathers is always such a hair-pulling task. What in the world would, or could you possibly get for a man who already has pretty much every material thing he could want?

My father-in-law’s birthday dinner’s tonight, and up till this morning Han and I didn’t have a clue as to what to get him. But after I woke up, showered, read the papers and today’s Daily Bread, I got inspired:

Material:

• 1 used gift box (which was from my dad, incidentally)
• 2 sheets of origami paper for the lily and lily pad
• a string of beads
• a bit of heavy paper for the text

It felt great to get crafty again. And I feel vindicated for being a pack rat—all the stuff I used were stashed all over the apartment, collected from various people and places. The origami papers were at least 12 years old, faithfully wrapped in the original paper bag they came in when I bought them while still in primary or secondary school. I ‘rediscovered’ them only last week when Han and I shifted more of my old things from my parents’ place.

I wanted to tell my father-in-law that what he teaches us does stay in our hearts and minds. And it’s wonderful that I chanced across a bible passage that echoes what he says…it just goes to show that the gap between our faiths need not be so huge after all.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth.”
1 John 3:18